Knitting-machine.



H. H. WILDT.

KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1909" Patented Sept. 19,'1911.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 1. 7 5

H. H. WILDT.

KNITTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1909.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

2-SHEETSSHEET 2.

' Britain, residing at Leicester,in the county UNITED sTATEs HERMANHUBERT WILDT,

or LEICESTER, ENGLAND.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN HUBERT VVILDT, a subject of the King of Greatof Leicester, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in orRelating to Knitting-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to knitting machines and has reference tomachines of the latch needle type either of circular or straight barconstruction,

The object of the present invention is to provide such knitting machineswith improved mechanism for producin stripes, spots or similar eifectsin the fabric by means of additional colored threads which are insertedand produce patterns in like mangle!- to the well known method ofplatmg.

The invention will be described in application to a circular knittingmachine of known construction.

The invention is carried into effect by the provision of a plurality ofthread feeders or layers predisposed with relation to certain needles ofthe machine which are to produce the stripes, spots or pattern, and withwhich pattern thread feeders a cam cooperates to cause the predeterminedpatterning or striping needles to receive the colored thread in additionto the ordinary ground or fabric .thread and afterward knit in theordinary way. Combined with this actuation of the pattern needles, thepattern thread feeders are constructed, arranged and operated in such amanner that they positively carry or wrap their threads around theneedles, and means are provided by which the needle actuating cam andthe pat tern thread feeders may be thrown into and out of action eitherautomatically or by hand.

According to a convenient arrangement of mechanism constructed inaccordance with the present invention, the before mentioned plurality ofpattern thread feeders are located in a' dial or plate located adjacentto the needles in the needle cylinder. The said dial is suitably trickedor grooved to receive the thread feeders and is held by suitable means(such for example as a rod vertically slidable within a supportingbracket) so that it may be lowered into operative Specification ofIietter Patent. Patented Application filed May 7, 1909. Serial No.494,630.

Sept. 19, 1911.

- be lifted upward away from the needle cylbobbins, cops, or the like tothe thread feeders. When lowered into its operative position'the trickeddial carryin the pattern thread feeders occupies a fix relationship tothe needles, that is to say, assuming that the needles are stationarywhile the cam box of the machine rotates, then the dial is heldstationary so that its thread feeders bear a constant relation to theirrespective pattern forming needles. If, however, the needle cylinder ofthe machine rotates, then the dial will rotate in unison therewith butin the mechanism being described the needle cylinder is fixed and isfurnished with a rotatable cam box.

The needles which are to receive the colored threads from the threadfeeders for patterning, striping or like purposes are predisposed aroundthe needle cylinder and occupy positions therein which correspond to thepositions of the pattern thread feeders in the tricked dial. Theseneedles, hereinafter termed pattern needles, are furnished withelongated butts or with additional butts so that they may be engaged bythe actuating cam before referred to the action of which is to raise thepattern needles above the nonpattern or ordinary needles so that theyare brought nearer to the thread feeders at the required times toreceive the colored threads. This actuating or needle raising cam ispreferably moved into and out of action automatically by the engagementof a star wheel with a stop or stops said star wheel being in operableconnection with the cam and said stop or stops being moved into and outof the path of the star wheel at the equired times by suitableintermediate mechanism controlled and actuated from a pattern chain ordrum.

The pattern thread feeders in the dial or plate are arranged to have twodifferent motions in order that they may lay or wrap their threadsaround the pattern needles 'when the latter are raised close up to saidfeeders to receive the threads. These motions consist of a radialsliding movement and an oscillating or swinging movement the combinedeffect of such movement being that the thread feeders pass completelyposition close down to the needle cylinder or around the needles andthus lay their conduct the colored patterning threads from v threadsaround the needles below the hooks so'that the threads are engagedthereby.

Normally the thread feeders are located at the backor rear of theneedles and toward one side thereof. A forward or out- K from the frontpast the op osite sidesto the back of the needles, and nally a swingingmovement in 'the'opposite direction carries the thread around the backof the needles thus passing completely around the needles and returningto the normal position preparatory to repeating the operation after theneedles have formed the colored threads they have received intostitches.These movements are imparted to the pattern thread feeders by means of acam which is mounted on the dialand rotates in llIllSOIl with the cambox of the machine said cam beingdrivenby an arm projecting from the cambox and engaging or making contact .with a stop or pin on the cam. Thesaid ..arm may be moved out of engagement with .the stop or pin on thecam either automatically or by hand to stop the cam and throw thepattern thread feeders out of action.

It will be obvious that if the needles and dial rotate instead of thecam box, then the feeder operating cam will remain stationary with thecam box and an arm or similar projection on the needle cylinder maybe'employed to rotate the dial in unison therewith.

In order that the invention may be clearly and readily understood,.theconstruction, arrangement and operation of the improved mechanism willbe hereinafter more fully described with reference totheaccompanyingdrawings, in which:-

FigureL, isan elevation of the. upper part of a circular knittingmachine provided with the improved mechanism according to thisinvention. Figs. 2 and 3., are respectively, side and (interior) frontviews of the pattern. needle actuating cam and the mechanism on the cambox for moving the same. Fig. 4., is a half sectional elevation ofthefeeder dial'or plate and its cam. Fig. 4 shows a modified constructionof thread feeder hereinafter referred to. Fig. 5., i s a front viewshowing two thread feeders rocked to carry their threads across thefront of the needles. Fig. 6., shows in plan, a portion of the trickedfeeder dial or' plate the cam being removed. Fig. 7., is an undersideview of the cam for actuating the thread feeders in the dial. and 111',are perspective views illustrating Figs. 8, 9, 1O

consecutively the movements of one of the feeders to carry or wrap theatternthread are drawn to} figures firmly mounted on the bed or table 4of the e samev machine. The said rod 2 is arranged to;

slide within its supporting bearing 3 so that the feeder dial 1 may beraised andlowered out of and into itsworking position respectively'. Anysuitable means, such for exam ple as a set screw 3, may be provided inthe bearing 3 to maintain the rod 2 in its raised position and a featheror key in the said hearing, or on the rod, may be furnished and adaptedto prevent rotation of the rod and dial "as well as to insure that thelatter always a'ssumes its correct relative position to the needles whenlowered into the working position.

-Gruideplates 5 and 6 are provided with a series of holes thereinthrough which the plurality of colored or pattern threads 7 are passed,the plate 6 being fixed on the rod 2 and the plate 5 being attachedeither to the bearing 3, or to the rod 2 so as to move in companytherewith when the rod is raised in its bearing. Any suitablearrangement of thread carriers and'guidesmay be rovided to hold thevarious pattern threa s 7 and conduct them to the guide plate 5.

The feeder dial 1 is tucked or grooved both on its upper surface and onits periphery for the reception of the plurality of pattern threadfeeders 8. In the upper face of the dialthe tricks or grooves 9 aredisposed radially as shown in ,Fig. 6, and in the pcripheral edge ofsaid dial angular tricks or recesses 10 are formed as illustrated inFigs. 4, 5 and 8 to 11. The peripheral tricks or recesses 10 aredisposed in such a manner as to join or aline themselves with the radial'tricks 9 and-thus form continuous grooves which extend across'the upperface and peripheral edge-of the dial and longitudina ly are ofright-angular formation.

, The tricks or grooves 9 in the u per face of the dial are preferablyrounded or semicircular in cross section at the bottom and the threadfeeders 8 have rounded shanks or rods 11 preferably integrally formedwith their depending legs 12 (on which the feeders proper are formed)said shanks being located along the partly rounded tricks 9 while thelegs 12 are (normally) located in the recesses 10 as shown in Figs. .1-and 6.

As previously stated, the thread feeders are arran ed to have twodistinct motions in the dia said motions comprising a slidare attainedby shanks 11 within their grooves 9. The first of these movements isbrought about by moving the shanks 11 longitu ina-lly or sliding themalong within the radial tricks or oves 9 such movement causing the legs12 of the feeders to move forward out of the recesses 10 as shown inFig. 9. The second movement above mentioned is attained by partlyrotating the shanks 11 in the grooves 9 thus causing the legs 12 toswing or rock in the manner shown in Figs. '5 andv 10 the rounded shanks11 forming the fulcrum or pivot on which the feeders move.

The outward and inward sliding movement of the feeders as well as theswing or rocking motion in one direction is positively imparted by meansof the cam 13 whose groove 14 engages upstanding butts 15 on the -shanks11. These butts are preferably integrall formed with the feeder shanksl1 and, as s own in Figs. 4 and 5, extend above said shanks into thegroove 14 of the cam 13.

In Fig. 7 the eccentric side portions 16 of the cam groove '14 slide theshanks of the feeders along the grooves 9 to move the feeders in and outof the dial as previously described, and at the shaded part 17 of thegroove 14 the latter is made shallower so that the bottom thereof willdepress or move the shank butts 15 laterally, asshown in Fig. 5, torotate or turn the shanks 11 "n the grooves 9 and rock the feeders 8.

The cam 13 is located on the upper face of the dial 1 and is rotatablymounted on the boss 18 thereof a collar 19 being provided on said bossto keep the cam in place see Fig. 4. The cam 13 is rotated on the dial 1from the cam box 20 of the machine. 'through the medium of a bracket 21attached to said cam box and provided at its upper end with an arm 22pivoted thereto (Fig. 1). This arm 22 is adapted to be turned on itspivot into and out of contact with a pin or set screw 23 carried in asmall bracket 24 attached to the cam. When the cam box rotates in theusual way the contact of the arm 22 with the pin 23 on the cam 13 drivesthe latter and, by turning the pivoted arm 22 up or down out of contactwith said pin 23, the cam 13 may be rendered inoperative and stop thefeeding of the'colored threads to the needles. The said arm 22'may beturned to disengage it from the cam 13 by hand, or a suitable cam, stopor equivalent (not shown) may be moved into and outof its rotary path,automatically or otherwise, to operate said arm in the manner justdescribed to bring it into and out of driving contact with the cam 13.

For the purpose of returning the feeders 8 to their normal position i.e. for rocking them in the opposite I direction after they certain actuaions of the have been rocked by the part 17 of the cam 13 and arereleased therefrom springs 25 which bear against-the sides 0 the legs 12are furnished on -the underside of the dial as shown in Figs. 4 and 6.These springs '25 act in an opposite direction to that 1nwhich thefeeders are rocked by the cam 13 and operate to normally hold thefeeders in an approximately vertical position against one side of theangular recesses 10 and also to return the feeders to this normalposition immediately they are released by the part 17 of the cam 13after having been rocked as previously described. i

The angularity of the recesses 10 allows for the rocking or oscillatingmovement of the legs 12 to take place this being clearly demonstrated bycomparison between Figs. 4 and 5, and 8 and 11. The sides of the angularrecesses 10 against which the legs 12 of the feeders are normallypressed by the springs 25 are extended beyond the periphery of the dialby the provision of studs or pegs 26 which, as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and6, project from the edge of the dial and are '90.

the outward sliding movement of the shanks f 11, the projecting studs 26will provide a bearing surface for the legs 12 and prevent them, underthe action of their springs 25, rocking beyond their. normal positions.

The upper surface of the dial 1 may have an annular recess 27 (Figs. 4and 6) of sufficient width to embrace the length of the slidingmovements of the butts 15 the object of said recess being to reduce thesides of the tricks or grooves 9 in depth at that part to permit of therotation or rocking of the butts 15 in the said grooves.

The. boss 18 of the dial 1 is furnished with a series of holes 28there-through for the passage of the pattern forming threads 7 from theguide plate 6 to the feeders and the legs 12 of said feeders have 'holes29 passing through so that the threads '7 may be conducted down into andthrough the feeders 8 in the manner shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 8 to 11.

Before the thread feeders 8 can carry or Wrap their threads around thepattern needles, it is necessary that the latter should be raised intoclose proximity to the feeders so that they may occupy a'convenientposition relatively to said feeders to receive the threads. The needleswhich are to receive additional threads for producing stripes or patterneffects in the fabric, 2'. e. the pattern needles 30, are eachfurnished, preferably, with an additional butt 31 conveniently formed onthe lower end or tail of the needle as represented by dotted lines in-Fig. 2.- For the purpose of raising these pattern needles 30 aboveordinary needles, a cam is position. This cam is formed in two parts 32,33 the part 32 being. fixed and the part 33 being movable 'ontheinterior of the usual cam box 20. 'The movable part- 33 of the cam isadapted to move from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3" to thatindicated by dot and dash lines 'above it.

When in the lower of the two positions just mentioned, the part 33 ofthe cam allows the needle. butts 31 to ride thereover and to take a pathalong the underside of the fixed part 32 in which case the needles arenot raised higher than the ordinary needles and consequently do notreceive additional threads for patterning purposes.

a When moved to the higher position however, the part 33 of the camconducts the needle butts 31 up tothe inclined end34 of the fixed part32 so that the said butts ride up the inclined end 34 and take a pathover the top [of the said fixed part .and therebyraise the needles tothe thread re'-' ceivlng position. After the needles have receivedthethreads from the feeders, in a manner which will be described later, the

- butts 31 of said'n'eedles pass oil the opposite end of the fixed part32 of the cam, and the ordinarybutts 35 of the needles are then actuatedby the usual cams to, cause the needles to form the threads they havereceived into stitches.

The movable part'33 of the cam just described is mounted or formed onthe lower end of a slide 36 which is arranged on the exterior of the cambox 20 and. located in a slide-Way or groove 37in a bracket 38 fixed tothe cambox. "The side of cam box 20 is cut away at 39 for the receptionand movement of the part 33 of the cam therein and the upper end of theslide 36 is provided with a projection 40' which rides on the peripheryof a rotating cam 41mounted on a short spindle 42 rotatable within thebracket 38. The rotation of the cam 41 raises the slide 36 in its,groove or slideway 37 and consequently raises'the part 33 of the needleraising cam on the interior of the cam box 20. When the projections ofthe cam 41. pass from. under the projection 40 of the slide 36the latterfalls to lower the cam part 33 under the action of aspring 43 whichbears against the upper end of said slide 36, as shown in Fig. 2. v

The spindle 42 is intermittently rotated to raise and lower the cam part33 by mechanism comprising a star wheel 44 mounted on the outward end ofthe spindle the-arms or ribs of said star wheel being engaged,

. as the cam box rotates,by stops 45 slidable within fixed blocks 46mounted on the bed or table 4 of the'machiney The engagement of the starwheel44 with the stops .45 causes a part rotation of the said wheel andconsequently also of the cam 41 which part rotation is sufficient toeither raise the cam' part 33 or allow it to fall as the casemay be.

A spring 47 is preferably arranged on the spindle 42 and adapted toexert pressure part of the spindle 42 and cam 41 until the star-wheel 44is again positively rotated by its contact with one of the pins or stops45. The stops 45 are actuated in their blocks 46, that is, they are slidto and fro therein so as to move into and out of the path of the starwheel 44 by any suitable means, not

shown.

The 1 operation of the hereinbefore disclosed mechanism will now bedescribed.

The pattern needles 30 are pre-disposed around the needle cylinderaccording to the desired position of the stripes, spots or pattern inthefabric and' occu y positions in the said cylinder which willcorrespond to the positions of the respective feeders in the dial 1 fromwhich the pattern needles are to receive the colored threads to producethe stripes or similar plated pattern.

The feeder dial 1 is lowered into its working position just above theneedle cylinder,'as shown in Fig. 1, and the pivoted arm 22 is movedinto engagement with the pin 23 on the dial cam 13 so as to rotate thelatter when the cam box 20 revolves. The movable cam part 33 is raisedinto action e. to the, osition indicated by dot and dash lines in Fig.3, to engage the additional butts 31 of the pattern-needles and 50 thatthey are raised by the fixed cam part 32 to the position in which theyare ready ,to-receive their respective )attern threads 7.

The manner in-which t e needles 30 receive their additional colored orpattern forming threads will be more clearly un derstood upon referenceto Figs. 8 to 11 where one needle is shown as receiving an additionalthread 7 from one of the feeders 8 in the dial.

The feeder 8 carrying the thread 7 normallyoccupies a position in thedial as shown in Fig Sand hereinbefore fully described. WVhile thefeeder is in this normal position the needle 30 in the cylindercorresponding in position to the said feeder 8 is'raised,by the cam part32 so that its hook comes up underneath and a little toward one side ofthe lower end of the feeder as shown in Fig. 8. The position of theraised needles'relatively to the feeders 8 is more clearly shown howeverin Fig. 5 where the dot and dash lines indicate the normal position ofthe feeders.

After the needle 30 has been raised, the

influence of its spring 25.

the position shown in Fig. and this-movement carries the thread past thefront of the needle. While held in this rocked position by the shallowportion 17 of the cam groove 14 the feeder 8 is withdrawn or moved.inward in the dial by the eccentric sides 16 of the cam groove 14 thismovement bringing the leg 12 of the feeder again within the angularrecess 10 of the dial and carrying the thread 7 rearward past theopposite side of the needle as shown in Fig. These three movements justdescribed wrap or carry the thread 7 around the needle on threesidesthereof, and after the completion of thelast mentioned movement thesaid needle is drawn downward by the passage of its additional butt 31from ofi' the fixed cam part 32 and its ordinary butt 35 coming underthe action of the ordinary knitting cams. When drawn downward the hookof the needle 30 engages the thread 7 which has been wrapped around theneedles as described and the said thread is then drawn down and knittedin company with the ordinary thread previously or subsequently taken bythe needle in the usual way.

The action of the shallow portion 17 of the cam groove 14 upon thefeeder 8 is preferably arranged to cease after the needle 30 commencesto be drawn downward so that just about the time that the downwardmovement of the needle terminates, the feeder 8 rocks in the oppositedirection and returns to its normal position under the It may bearranged however, that the feeder 8 shall complete the whole of itsmovements and return again to the normal position shown in Fig. 8 beforethe needle 30 commences to be drawn down, in which case the thread willbe more completely wrapped around the needle than in the previousinstance Where theneedle is drawn down before the final return rockingmovement of the feeder. In Figs. 8 to 11 a single feeder 8 isillustrated as laying a single thread 7 around one needle buta pluralityof thread feeders may be formed on a single leg 12 illustrated at-5O inFig 4*, so as to embrace a number of needles and feed threadssimultaneously to such needles when the leg 12 is actuated in the mannerbefore described.

By means of a plurality of thread feeders on asingle leg as justdescribed, pattern forming threads may be fed to adjacent needles whosepitch or arrangement in the needle cylinder would not convenientlypermit of the provision of independent feeders for each of said needles.

Any convenient number of needles may be embraced by a plurality offeeders on a single leg and threads may be fed to any or all of suchneedles embraced by the said feeders.

The stripes, spots or. other plated pattern may be produced all orpartly around the tube of fabric produced by the knitting machine by prearranging the pattern needles around the. cylinder accordingly. Thislocation of the pattern around the fabric may however be variedthroughout the length of the tubular fabric while the-disposition" ofthe pattern needles remains the same, that is to shy, the striping orpattern may be formed all around the fabric at one part, or v for aportion of its length and then be produced only partly around the saidfabric for another-portion of its length this change being effectedautomatically without making any change in the disposition of theneedles within the cylinder.

As an example, a stocking may be formed having a stripe or patternformed all around the leg portion but when knitting the foot, thepattern may be produced on one half only viz., the instep, the remaininghalf of the fabric which is to form the foot bottom being left plain.This change is effected by the throwing of the movable cam part 33 intoand out of action during each rotation of the cam box the result being,that at each revolution, only a certain portion of thepattern needles 30are raised to receive the pattern thread 7 In the mechanism illustratedin Fig. 1

one of the stops 45 may rotate the star wheel 44 to place the cam part33 into action while the next stop may rotate said star wheel stillfurther to lower said. cam part out of action thus causing a portiononly of the needles 30 to be raised to take the thread.

When the cam part 33 remains in constant action a continuous stripe isformed by each pattern needle 30 down the fabric and if only one of thestops 45 engages the star wheel 44 at each revolution then the cam part33 will be moved into and out of action successively and so cause theneedles 30 to form colored stitches in, alternative courses and thusproduce spots in the fabric.

It will be understood therefore that'by employing stops such as 45located in various positions around the path of the star wheel, and bymoving such steps into and out of the path of the star wheel at varioustimes as required, the pattern formed by, or

location of, theplating threads in the fabric may be changed as desiredand the movements of the stops 45 to effect this result may be mamasactuated by an convenient arrangementpf mechanism from sto s or cam-13vrotatesjbut' this is immaterial as far as the change of patternisconcerned inasmuch as it is only those needles 30 which are raised bythe cam in the camvbox which take scribed a dial, a'plurality of tricksthreads from their respective feeders and v thus the whole of thedesired changes in the v patternmay be effected by the actuation of theone cam part 33 in the manner previously described.

What I claim then is 1. In a knitting machine of the type detherein, apluralityof pattern thread feeders located in said tricks of the dial,shanks on said feeders slidable and partly rotatable within the tricks,butts on said shanks, a cam r0- tatable on said dial, and a groove insaid cam which by engagement with the butts on the shanks of the feedersimparts both a sliding and rocking or swinging movement to said:feeders, substantially in the manner as and for the purpose described.

slide so that said feeders may be'moved into and out of the workingposition-above the needles, and means comprising a bracket on the cambox, a pivoted arm-thereon, and a pin carried by the feeder actuatingcam with which pin said arm makes contact to rotate a the cam when inthe working position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERMAN HUBERT WILDT.

Witnesses E. V. Lawrs, WALTER W. BALL.

